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WKU's Institute for Rural Health to conduct dental outreach in McCreary County

The gift will be used to conduct preventive dental outreach through the IRH’s Mobile Dental Unit for children served by the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) in McCreary County. The outreach will take place at CAP’s Eagle Community Center in Parkers Lake. The preventive program will consist of kindergarten screenings, dental exams, dental cleanings, fluoride varnish treatment and dental sealants.

IRH Director Matt Hunt said the targeted patient population for its Mobile Dental Unit consists mainly of designated underserved and health professional shortage areas that have limited access to dental care, and this particular outreach is at the core of the mission of the IRH.

According to U.S. Census Data, McCreary County is one of the 20 poorest counties in the United States. Hunt reports that McCreary has been classified as a Health Professional Shortage Area for medical and dental services. As such, the 2014 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps reports McCreary County has a 20,180:1 ratio of population to dentist. Reviewing the health data for Kentucky further validates the importance of the community outreach and service learning conducted by the IRH.

Hunt said the IRH is delighted to partner with CAP for this much needed dental outreach.

The Family and Consumer Sciences department at WKU is pleased to announce that it has received notice that the Interior Design Bachelor of Science degree has been granted accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

Dr. Scott Lyons, Director of the School of Kinesiology, Recreation & Sport (KRS) at Western Kentucky University, was recently recognized by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) as a new Fellow of the College.

On Thursday, November 17th, students from the Department of Public Health in the College of Health and Human Services once again brought global health issues to the attention of the university community as part of International Education Week (IEW).